Chapter 43 second quarter

During Ye Qisun's time in Chongqing, it is worth mentioning that he received British scholar Joseph Needham many times and forged a profound friendship with him.Needham was the scientific counselor of the British embassy at the time. He told Ye Qisun that he wanted to write a "History of Science and Technology in China".A foreigner wants to write a history of Chinese science and technology, which makes Ye Qisun feel guilty and admired.So he was determined to help him, that was one.Second, after investigation, he found that Needham was a scientist with a scientific spirit.What is the deep motivation of Joseph Needham to write "History of Science and Technology in China"?After many conversations, Ye Qisun learned that Needham had a puzzled question: China created the brilliance of ancient science and technology, why did such creativity disappear in modern times?Taking this clue and using a history of science to find the crux is the original intention of Joseph Needham in writing this book.Heroes agree with each other. Ye Qisun raised this issue in his early years and conducted in-depth discussions.After contacting Needham, Ye Qisun believes that Needham's scientific spirit is reflected in his motivation and starting point. He is not a narrow-minded nationalist, but discovers problems from the height of human spirit.After discovering the problem, the methods he used for research and discussion are characterized by richness and diversity, including the use of modern scientific and technological achievements to guide and enrich his own epistemology and methodology, and at the same time, he can get inspiration from the history and culture of different regions, etc. Wait.Joseph Needham has deep affection for the Chinese people and a deep understanding of Chinese thought and culture.He loved China, but was very disappointed with the Nationalist government at that time, and believed that the Communist Party was China's hope for the future.At this point, Ye Qisun admired Needham very much, thinking that he was an upright and respected scientist.Therefore, Ye Qisun tried his best to support Needham, contacted the library in many ways to find materials for him, and also gave him the materials on the history of science collected by himself, and accompanied them in English to facilitate Needham's search.His support exceeded Needham's expectations. In Ye Qisun, Needham found a philosopher-like light that was hard to find in his western counterparts.

One day, Needham called and wanted to know about the research situation of seismology in China.Ye Qisun readily agreed to his request, and the two came together to Beibei, which is tens of kilometers away from the suburbs of Chongqing. The car was crawling on the winding mountain road, and the words of the two scientists were like two different vines entangled with each other. Needham talked about art.He said the foggy Chongqing often reminded him of his childhood home in London.The same city shrouded in dense fog is so different when it is reflected on the screen with artistic techniques.In the eyes of Western painters, similarity in spirit seems to be far superior to similarity in form.But the Chinese seem to have noticed this problem very early, such as the freehand brushwork of Chinese painters.You see, if the mountains are covered with fog outside the painting window... Chinese paintings can be processed with splashed ink and blank imagination. I wonder if such a clever thinking can inspire Chinese scientists?

Ye Qisun expressed support for Needham's wonderful idea.He said that compared with Western scientists, Chinese scientists pay more attention to the art of life.In the eyes of Westerners, what is there is what is, what is not is what is not.But we don’t look at it this way. Being doesn’t necessarily mean being, and nothing doesn’t necessarily mean nothing.This may be Lao Tzu's "If you want to take it, you must give it to you", just like the blank space in a Chinese painting, which is actually full of imagination.It is precisely because of this kind of thinking that the attitude of Chinese scientists towards life has been cultivated.When you get to our Seismological Research Institute, you will see what "creating something out of nothing" is...

The "nothing" of the Earthquake Research Institute is indeed beyond Needham's imagination.A few low-rise bungalows, a few dilapidated instruments, and four or five people with pale faces.Most of the Beibei area is hilly. The Seismological Research Institute was built on a slightly higher hillside surrounded by dense bamboo forests, reminiscent of the beauty of Wang Xizhi's Orchid Pavilion. China is a country prone to earthquakes.Needham did not expect such a situation for an institution that predicted huge danger information.For a country with a large population, every earthquake is no less than a war, but the Chinese put such institutions in houses that are not even as good as British boiler rooms.Perhaps the only reason Needham could think of was war.

The person who received them was called Li Shanbang. He told Needham that the current conditions in Beibei should be better than before. Li Shanbang was originally a student of Ye Qisun in the Physics Department of Southeast University. After graduating in 1925, he was unemployed several times, and finally had to return to his hometown in rural Guangdong to farm.Ye Qisun has always remembered this hard-working student. Even after he left Southeast University, teachers and students still maintain correspondence.During this period, Ye Qisun’s good friend Weng Wenhao built a seismic station at Jiufeng, Xiangshan Mountain, Beiping. Because Weng himself was not only the director of the Geological Survey Institute, but also a professor of the Department of Earth Sciences of Peking University. Therefore, Ye Qisun introduced Li Shanbang to Weng Wenhao.

Weng Wenhao is the pioneer of earthquake research in modern China. In 1922, when the Geological Society of China was established, Weng served as vice president, and then served as president for four consecutive terms.He has led people to investigate earthquake-stricken areas many times. During one inspection, he almost lost his life due to a car accident.But a strong sense of mission has always pushed him to the forefront of earthquake research.Jiufeng Seismic Station is the first seismic station built by the Chinese themselves. From financing, site selection, material preparation, construction to completion, he has condensed his painstaking efforts.The seismic station has been built, but more important than the construction of the station is the person who is engaged in earthquake research.He's very picky about it.

Even so, he still took a fancy to Li Shanbang at a glance. When the seismic station was built, Weng Wenhao, Ye Qisun, Ding Wenjiang and others came to the completion ceremony.Climbing all the way from Bei'anhe Village to the top of Jiufeng Mountain, the seismic station is built adjacent to a temple. Looking at the two simple houses, Ding Wenjiang said that the scenery here is superb, but life will be very difficult.The living conditions of those who come to work here are even worse than those of the monks and nuns in Jiufeng Temple. Ye Qisun took up the quarrel, the Buddhist world looks forward to the afterlife, while we who engage in earthquakes focus on this life, which is like what Taoism does.But Taoism advocates quietness and inaction, but we cannot do nothing.To come here is to do something and not to do something. It is our original intention to seek peace and happiness for the common people in the world, and it is our ethics not to seek profit and enjoyment for ourselves.Those who want to come must have the compassionate heart of Buddhism, as well as the innocence of Taoism and the mind of Confucianism. By the way, they must also have professional knowledge, knowledge of seismology and physical measurement... Now that I think about it, this talent is still It's really harder than choosing the principal of Tsinghua University...

Everyone burst out laughing. When Li Shanbang appeared in front of Weng Wenhao, with just a few words, Weng Wenhao decided that this was the person they were looking for. In order for Li Shanbang to master the knowledge of seismology as soon as possible, Weng Wenhao sent him to Shanghai Xujiahui Seismic Station to study.This was the only earthquake observation station in China run by the French at that time, and it served foreigners in Shanghai.When a Chinese person walked into the seismic station, even if it was introduced by a famous scientist like Weng Wenhao, the Italian named Long Xiangqi still fortified Li Shanbang in many ways, treating him as a servant, but did not teach him observation knowledge.After Weng Wenhao knew the inside story, he took advantage of the weakness of Italians who love vanity, and went to the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce to get him a title of consultant for him.Long Xiangqi was overjoyed, and immediately changed his attitude towards Li Shanbang.After mastering the basic knowledge of earthquake observation, Li Shanbang returned to Beiping Jiufeng Seismic Station.

Jiufeng Seismic Station is more than 40 kilometers away from Beiping, and the place is deserted.A narrow path, a thin little donkey, and a flatbed truck carrying people and goods, Li Shanbang worked as hard as ants moving house. It took a whole month to deliver the German Wischer mechanical seismograph ordered Mount Jiufeng and install it completely.The light bulb of the battery turned on, the moon outside the window was suddenly scared away by the electric light, the sound of chanting in the opposite temple stopped, and a shepherd boy was screaming at the foot of the mountain, but the fatal instrument ignored Li Shanbang, regardless of him. How to debug according to the manual, the pointer does not move at all.

Li Shanbang rushed back to Tsinghua University for help.At this time, Weng Wenhao had been hired by Ye Qisun as a professor of the Department of Earth Sciences, but neither he nor anyone in the Geological Survey had seen such a complicated instrument.Li Shanbang found Ye Qisun, who was currently presiding over the school administration as the chairman of the school affairs meeting, so he had to entrust the matter to Mr. Wu Youxun.Wu Youxun followed Li Shanbang to Jiufeng. After carefully reading the instructions, he told Li Shanbang that this is not a very precise instrument, and it is not necessary to follow the instructions step by step. It can be adjusted repeatedly without any problems.After Mr. said this, Li Shanbang became more courageous, fiddled with left and right, and the pointer of the instrument really moved...

Ye Qisun saw that Li Shanbang was too busy alone, so he transferred Jia Lianheng from the laboratory of the Department of Physics to be his assistant.Jia Lianheng is young, capable and full of energy. After coming to the earthquake station, he became Li Shanbang's good helper.It was also this Jia Lianheng who served as Ye Qisun's secret traffic officer after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War and made contributions to the Anti-Japanese War. At 13:02:02 on September 20, 1930, the Jiufeng Seismic Station received the earthquake record for the first time. Since this day, a data called "Jiufeng Earthquake Research Laboratory Earthquake Special Report" has been included in earthquake research people's line of sight.For seismology magazines around the world, this is a piece of fresh news from the ancient East.Although weak and simple, it brings a lot of information to researchers.Of course, in addition to professional enlightenment, people will also find a dedication and perseverance in the sender of the message. China's Jiufeng Seismic Station has gradually gained a worldwide reputation. Li Shanbang's name is also gradually becoming famous in China. For Li Shanbang's performance, Weng Wenhao was overjoyed.He immediately expanded the Jiufeng seismic station into a seismic research laboratory, appointed Li Shanbang as the director, and brought his wife from his hometown in Guangdong to make proper arrangements.In this way, China's earthquake industry started from a difficult start in Jiufeng and gradually developed... After Li Shanbang, Ye Qisun successively recruited Weng Wenbo, a sixth-level graduate of the Department of Physics of Tsinghua University, and Qin Xinling, a ninth-level graduate of the Department of Physics, into the Earthquake Research Office.Weng Wenbo is Weng Wenhao's cousin.When preparing his graduation thesis, Ye Qisun suggested that he choose a topic in the field of seismology and act as an instructor himself.He asked Weng Wenbo to go to Jiufeng for on-the-spot investigation, observation, and work for a period of time before writing.Weng Wenbo came here for an internship at the teacher's request, and wrote a high-quality graduation thesis entitled "Natural Earthquake Prediction" half a year later. Since then, he has forged an indissoluble bond with the earthquake industry. Qin Xinling is a very proud student of Ye Qisun and Ren Zhigong.Mr. Ye likes that he has strong hands-on ability and is a good hand in the laboratory. Ren Zhigong appreciates that he is proficient in radio technology.Upon graduation, Ye Qisun mobilized Qin Xinling to go to Jiufeng Seismic Station to assist Li Shanbang in his work, and offered him preferential treatment.Qin Xinling agreed.But Mr. Ren Zhigong felt that Qin Xue was not used, and it was a pity to go to the earthquake institute.After the scouring of the river of time, people gradually understood Ye Qisun's careful layout. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Beiping fell, Li Shanbang and Qin Xinling went to Nanjing Geological Survey Institute, while Jia Lianheng stayed at Jiufeng.At this time, there were Japanese troops stationed in Bei'an River area. To prevent accidents, Jia Lianheng, with the help of his father, used the method of gnawing bones with ants. The Physics Department of Peking University asked him to keep it on his behalf, because Yanda is run by the American church, and Japanese invaders cannot harass it at will.Once, when passing the Japanese guard post, he was almost discovered, and Jia's father died shortly after he was frightened and overworked.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Jiufeng Seismic Station was restored soon, and all the seismic stations in the world received the news from it again, and some scholars wrote congratulatory letters one after another.Little do they know that behind its unyielding standing, there are not only the sweat and labor of the people engaged in the earthquake cause, but also the blood, sweat and sacrifice of their relatives. Now, standing in front of Needham and Ye Qisun are the four warriors from the Beibei Earthquake Station: Li Shanbang, Qin Xinling, Jia Lianheng, and Liu Qingling.Liu was a classmate of Qin. He was exiled to Chongqing due to the war. Qin recommended him to Li Shanbang, and Li settled him down to carry out geomagnetic survey work.Since then, Liu Qingling has traveled all over the Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Hunan regions, and conducted field measurements in more than 70 places.He is the person who was engaged in the geomagnetic surveying work in my country at the earliest time, with the largest scope and the most survey points.Needham was deeply shocked when these ragged, emaciated seismologists, leaning against the bamboo forest in thatched huts and uttering proficient English and seismological terminology, appeared in front of them. He couldn't help being shocked.Because he also saw a seismograph that was about to be completed.This is a self-made seismograph completely by local methods.They have no money to hire workers, so they do it themselves.Without electricity, I made my own stone flywheel. One person turned the flywheel while the other machined it.Qin Xinling's strong hands-on ability is brought into full play here. The entire seismograph is like a piece of sculpture by him. Under his psychic hands, even sand, gravel and dust can come alive little by little, as if there is life attached to the top.Don't underestimate this quaint seismic station, it was the only seismic station in mainland China during the Anti-Japanese War.The observation information compiled by it is sent to all parts of the world to communicate with the International Seismological Center (LSC) and Gutenberg, filling the gaps in the vast areas of the Eurasian continent.However, the international seismological community never imagined that all this is almost a miracle carved in stone. In front of the creation of Chinese scientists.Needham was deeply impressed. Are these your students?Joseph Needham asked Ye Qisun in astonishment. Ye Qisun nodded and replied: Yes. Because of this, Needham was full of admiration for Ye Qisun, for his philosophical thinking, for his insights, and for his character.They maintained a lifelong friendship.On the title page of the fourth volume of his published "History of Science and Technology in China", he wrote in an affectionate tone: Dedicated to Professor Ye Qisun.